Soap holder



p 4, 1965 c. L. BURROS 3,206,271

SOAP HOLDER Filed Jan. 9, 1964 FIG.|

INVENTOR.

CHARLES L. BURROS WFhWWs ATTOR N EYS United States Patent 3,206,271 SOAP HOLDER Charles L. Burros, 441 Bluebonnet Circle, Terrytown Subdivision, Gretna, La. Filed Jan. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 336,749 3 Claims. (Cl. 312-651) This invention relates to soap bar holders and more particularly comprises a holder which retards the melting of the soap bar by keeping water out of the holder and the soap bar properly drained.

Soap bars placed in the conventional open soap dishes disposed immediately adjacent a sink or tub are constantly soaked by splashing water, which causes the soap bar to melt. When a dish is not provided with a draintype tray for the soap bar, water collects in the dish and the soap bar in the water becomes soft and paste-like. Not only does the bar melt more rapidly under such conditions but its appearance is unsightly as well. Further, a soft soap bar deposits a sticky film on its soap dish, which is difficult to clean.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an enclosed soap holder which prevents water from splashing into the soap bar compartment.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a soap holder which has a draining tray for the soap bar, so that any water carried into the holder on the bar will quickly drain from it and enable the bar to dry.

Yet another important object of this invention is to provide a door for a soap holder opening which may be opened by the soap bar itself so that the bar may be placed in or removed from the holder with one hand.

Yet another importantobject of this invention is to provide a soap holder which may be pivotally supported on a wall bracket and which may be moved between limits to facilitate placing the soap bar in and removing it from the holder.

To accomplish these and other objects the soap holder of this invention comprises a body member having side, bottom, top and rear walls to form an enclosure. The body member also includes a front wall which is shorter than the side walls so as to form a door opening making the interior of the holder accessible. A door pivotally supported for movement about a horizontal axis located at the top of the opening swings freely between a first position wherein the door closes the opening, a second wherein the soap may be inserted into the interior of the holder, and a third position which allows the soap to be removed from the holder. The door itself serves as a shed for directing water away from the door opening.

In a preferred form of this invention a tray is disposed within the body member which has a drain panel spaced from the bottom wall of the body member, so as to allow the bar placed on the panel to drain dry.

These and other objects and features of this invention will be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a soap bar holder constr-ucted in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the different parts of the holder shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a preferred bracket mounting for the holder of FIG. 1.

The holder shown in FIG. 1 is composed of a body 10, a door 12, a tray 14 and a cover 16. Each of these four major parts may be made of metal, plastic or any other material which is not subject to rusting and which may be readily cleaned. Thus, a deluxe model of the soap 3,205,271 Patented Sept. 14, 1965 holder may include a chromium plated body, door and cover, and a plastic tray.

The body 10 includes a bot-tom wall 18, a pair of side walls 20 and 22, a rear wall 24 and a relatively short front wall 26. The front wall 26 which is substantially shorter than the side walls 29 and 22 and the rear wall 24 defines a front or door opening 28 providing access to the body. In FIG. 2 it will be noted that the body 10 is open at the top but is provided with a pair of outwardly extending pins 30 adjacent the top edges 32 of the side panels 20 and 22, which releasably retain the cover 16 in place over the top of the body.

A pair of vertically oriented slots 34 are formed at the top of the forward edges 36 of the side panels 20 and 22 which slots receive the pins 38 extending outwardly from the top of the sides of the door 12.

The door 12 is sized to just cover the opening 28 in the front of the body when the pins 38 are supported in the slots 34. It is evident in FIGS. 1 and 2 that the door 12 has a projected area in the plane of the wall 26 of the body, which is rectangular but in cross section the door 12 flares downwardly to a maximum thickness at the bottom 40. Thus, the inner surface 42 of the door 12 diverges from its front surface 44 so that when the door is mounted in place to cover the opening 28, the surface 4 2 extends inwardly of the plane of the front panel 26 of the body while the surface 44 extends outwardly in front of the plane of the front panel. In FIG. 1 wherein the door is shown to be disposed in its closing position, the manner in which the surface 44 extends forwardly of the plane of the front wall 26 is quite evident. The top 46 of the door 12 is rounded .so as to allow it to pivot freely closely adjacent the top of the opening 28 without gapping and provide the door with a particularly pleasing design.

The tray 14 has a horizontal perforated panel 48 supported on a pair of downwardly diverging side ribs 50 which rest on the lower wall 18 of the body. The panel 48 lies at or immediately below the top edge of the front wall 26. The sides of the panel 48 joined to the ribs 59 may be provided with upwardly extending shoulders 52 that serve to center the soap bar on the panel when the bar is placed on it. That is, the shoulders 52 may serve to hold the soap bar away from the side walls 20 and 22 of the body and center the bar on the tray so that moisture on the bar may drain through the perforations 54. The particular design of the tray is not critical but for convenience it should be readily removable from the body 10 so that it can be easily cleaned. A clear plastic tray of the general shape shown in FIG. 2 is most acceptable.

The cover 16 includes a top wall 56, front and rear walls 58 and stepped side walls 60. The cover 16 is sized to enable the lower portions of the side walls 60 to lie on the outsides of the side walls 20 and 22 of the body and the end walls 58 to lie outside the rear wall '24 and in front of the leading or forward edges 36 of the side panels. As suggested above, the cover 1-6 is removably held in place on the body by the outwardly extending pins 30 carried on tops of the side walls 20 and 22. The pins 30 register with dimples 62 at the ends of the lower portions of the side walls 60 of the cover so that the cover snaps in place and is firmly held in position. However, a lifting force applied to the cover will free the dimples 62 of the pins and allow the cover to be removed.

Having described the soap bar holder in detail the manner in which it is used will now be readily appreciated. It is evident that because the door 12 is pivotally supported over the opening 28 in the body, it may swing freely inwardly and outwardly of the body to provide access to and from the body interior. The position of the door may be determined solely by the position of the body as the door swings about a horizontal axis and its center of gravity is well below the hinge or pivotal axis. To insert a bar of soap into the body through the opening 28, the soap is merely pushed against the lower portion of the front surface 44 of the door and the door pivots inwardly freely out of the way so that the soap may pass through the opening 28. When the soap clears the opening 28 and the holder is placed in the horizontal position suggested in FIG. 1, the door closes by itself. To remove the soap from the holder it is only necessary to tip the holder downwardly at the front end which causes the door 12 to swing out of the opening 28 and allow the soap to slide out. The door itself serves as a shed to prevent water from entering the interior of the body even when splashed heavily by tub or sink water. The dish may be cleaned by unsnapping the cover 16 and removing the tray 14 and the door 12. It is evident that when the cover 16 is removed the tops of the slots 34 are exposed so that the pins 33 of the door may be lifted out of them. When the cover is in place it serves as a lock to retain the pins 38 in the slots so the door will not accidentally fall. Because the four major parts of the holder may be easily separated, the parts may conveniently be cleaned.

In FIG. 3 a mounting for the soap dish is shown in the form of a wall bracket having a pair of horizontal arms 64 secured to vertical plates 66 adapted to be screwed, cemented or otherwise fastened to a wall. The spaced parallel, horizontal arms 64 are provided with a pair of aligned openings 68 at their ends to receive outwardly extending pins 70 centered on the sidewalls 20 and 22 of the body somewhat above the center of gravity of the holder. A pair of stops 72 are disposed on the inner surfaces of the arms 64 adjacent the openings 68. The stops 72 cooperate with horizontal bars 74 carried on the side walls 20 and 22 of the body to limit the tilting action of the soap dish on the brackets. When the soap is inserted into the body through the opening 28, the body is tilted downwardly at the rear so that the soap may be inserted beneath the door 44. To remove the soap, the body is tilted downwardly at the front to allow the soap to slide off the tray 14 and beneath the door 12, into the users hands. If desired, means such as a spring may be employed to bias the body to the position shown in FIG. 3.

From the foregoing description those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications may be made of this invention wtihout departing from its spirit. Therefore, it is not intended that the scope of this invention be limited to the single embodiment illustrated and described. Rather, it is intended that the breadth of this invention be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:

1. A soap holder comprising a body having side, bottom and rear walls,

a front Wall forming part of the body and being substantially shorter than the side and rear walls,

a soap tray disposed in the body and having a perforated supporting panel parallel to the bottom Wall of the body,

a slot provided in the forward portion of each side wall substantially in the plane of the front wall and disposed adjacent the top of the side walls,

a door having a pair of outwardly extending pins at its top pivotally supported in the slots and with the door gradually increasing in thickness from the top to the bottom, said bottom of the door lying immediately above the top of the front "wall when the body is in the normal position,

a cover removable fastened to the top of the body and closing the body, and

means mounting said body for pivotal movement whereby said door is automatically pivoted to an open position during said pivotal movement.

2. A soap holder as defined in claim 1 further characterized by said body member being composed of a plurality of readily separable parts and the tray being separable from the parts of the body member.

3. A soap holder as defined in claim 2 further char acterized by,

said means mounting said body comprising, a bracket having a pair of arms which lie on opposite sides of the body member, means pivotally connecting the body member to the arms, and means limiting the pivotal movement of the body member to predetermined extreme positions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 746,906 12/03 Wimer 232-45 2,147,861 2/39 Shopen 248206 2,481,243 9/49 Robinson 312-351 2,879,622 3/59 Graziano 206-77.1 2,930,160 3/60 Pohl 206-37 3,019,549 2/62 Evans 206-77.1 3,054,211 9/62 Hawk et a1. 20677.l

FOREIGN PATENTS 676 1891 Great Britain.,

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SOAP HOLDER COMPRISING A BODY HAVING SIDE, BOTTOM AND REAR WALLS, A FRONT WALL FORMING PART OF THE BODY AND BEING SUBSTANTIALLY SHORTER THAN THE SIDE AND REAR WALLS, A SOAP TRAY DISPOSED IN THE BODY AND HAVING A PERFORATED SUPPORTING PANEL PARALLEL TO THE BOTTOM WALL OF THE BODY, A SLOT PROVIDED IN THE FORWARD PORTION OF EACH SIDE WALL SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE PLANE OF THE FRONT WALL AND DISPOSED ADJACENT THE TOP OF THE SIDE WALLS, A DOOR HAVING APAIR OF OUTWARDLY EXTENDING PINS AT ITS TOP PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED IN THE SLOTS AND WITH THE DOOR GRADUALLY INCREASING IN THICKNESS FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM, SAID BOTTOM OF THE DOOR LYING IMMEDIATELY ABOVE THE TOP OF THE FRONT WALL WHEN THE BODY IS IN THE NORMAL POSITION, A COVER REMOVABLE FASTENED TO THE TOP OF THE BODY AND CLOSING THE BODY, AND MEANS MOUNTING SAID BODY FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT WHEREBY SAID DOOR IS AUTOMATICALLY PIVOTED TO AN OPEN POSITION DURING SAID PIVOTAL MOVEMENT. 